


Letters from Pompeii

by campjupietrs



Series: The Olympians' Children [1]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ancient Greece & Rome, Alternate Universe - Mythology, Alternate Universe - No Exy (All For The Game), Angst, Crossover, Demigods, F/F, F/M, Greek and Roman Mythology - Freeform, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Memory Loss, Percy Jackson References, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-16
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-08-20 13:16:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16556468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/campjupietrs/pseuds/campjupietrs
Summary: Banes of the divine awake and rise,To the ruins, they claim their throne.Divine bloods will follow their call,To the terror of the sea, the King must fall.Nine heroes bear arms and vanquish,For the triumph or downfall of Olympus.---When the old enemies arise, gods and half-bloods have to work together to defeat the evils. To prevent further destruction, nine best Greek heroes in their generation travel to the ancient land to seek help. They expect an army ready to fight in the name of the Olympus, ready to fight the generals if they don’t want to fight. Yet, they aren’t ready for all the truths that will be unraveled along the journey.These nine heroes will not only facing an enemy, but they have to come to an important decision that may bring destruction or victory to the gods.





	1. Prophecy of Rome

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sonofvenus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sonofvenus/gifts).



> This fic is inspired from Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan and Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Marie Lu. Also, it takes place in Riordanverse! Of course I add a lot more twists and the storyline itself is different from Mark of Athena, though I adopt some of the twists from the book. ANYWAY, this is also my first fic I uploaded here so..be nice to me. And big thanks to sonofvenus for beta-ing this for me!

* * *

 

 

_Darkness wanders through Rome,_

_An oath one made to come home._

_The death shall rise and claim his place,_

_And nine shall have the power over the bane._

 

* * *

 


	2. Chapter I: Andrew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're already in Mediterranean Sea and currently discussing their plan once they arrive in Rome, meanwile Andrew is having nightmare regarding the future.

For centuries, a Great Prophecy—Prophecy of the Nine—was announced. The prophecy dated back long before the fall of Roman Empire. Since then, many demigods tried to fulfill the prophecy, but they failed terribly.  Some were death, some suffered from something worse than death; madness, fears and terrors.

It was then revealed, they were the nine half-bloods of the great prophecy. Before they gathered together in this magical giant ship, _Argo II_ , they were given each quest by the Queen of the Gods herself. Except for the two of them, who were given a special task from their godly parent.

It is considered dangerous for modern demigod to travel to ancient land. Though, Oracle of Delphi announced a prophecy for this quest, which left them with no choice but to sail—and sometimes fly—to Rome. If they had to fight to keep the world from collapsing, they would. These nine heroes, arms in arms with little aids from the gods, would risk their life upon such a dangerous quest.

Andrew Minyard showed little care about their quest, but his promise to keep his family _safe_ was the prime reason why he was here after all. He didn’t want to risk losing Aaron Minyard and Nicky Hemmick, not anymore—he didn’t want to feel the hollow feeling of losing someone he cared.

“We’ll arrive in Rome by sunrise,” Matt Boyd spoke to all heroes in the ship. The tension was growing stronger as they approached Rome. Everyone could sense it, the ancient power that dwelled beneath the city.

Andrew spared a glance toward Aaron, who was already looking at him. He knew what his twin felt, understood what it meant to go to Rome and probably Athens or Sparta afterward. Aaron shook his head to dismiss the thoughts and returned his attention back to sea.

Nicky was suspiciously quiet when Rome slowly greeted him. The fear of what waited for him there was obvious, Andrew flicked his tongue.

“You’ll be fine,” Andrew whispered. Annoyance clearly showed over his face. Lucky for them, as they sat in the back of the lounge, none of other demigods would heard what they were going to discuss. “You know where they are now, you saw it by yourself.”

“I know,” Nicky looked down at his hands. “I know, Andrew.”

“I have a very bad feeling about this,” Allison Reynolds said to no one in particular. Beside her, Seth Gordon gave a nod of approval. “The prophecy…, _darkness wanders through Rome_ …”

“We already discussed this,” Kevin Day cut her off. “We sail to Italy—Rome, we sail to Rome and we’ll find the lost camp and ask for their—“

“You do understand that the Romans hate us, right? How could you be so sure about this Roman camp you’re talking about?” Allison pressed again. Andrew raised an eyebrow at the game Allison was making; she could easily make everyone in this room to turn the ship and sail back home, something her mother would do, but she didn’t. Andrew wondered why.

“The Gray-eyed Lady assures me, they won’t attack us,” Kevin held Allison’s stare, daring her to challenge him. Allison didn’t back off, she held his stare back.

“That’s bullshit,” this time, Seth scowled. “Athena gives an aid to son of Poseidon? You’re bluffing, Day. Athena doesn’t give a shit about Poseidon’s offspring!”

“Watch your tongue,” Kevin’s tone was murderous, Andrew only heard this tone when he was about to kill an opponent.

“Careful, Seth,” Dan Wilds scowled at the same time as Kevin. Before Kevin could say anything, she interrupted, “Athena _did_ give a blessing, to both of us—Kevin and I.”

“Let’s not fight and focus what matters most,” Renee Walker cut in before Seth made Kevin wreck the sea and drown them all. For someone like her, Renee was _soft_ , Andrew had to dig some answers and gave up his secret in order to understand Renee more. He didn’t regret it though, not for a second.

“What are you going to do once we sail?” Renee’s attention shifted to Kevin. Andrew leaned forward, watching what Kevin would say. Aaron, who didn’t even pay attention to the discussion, suddenly found it interesting.

“We’ll find the lost camp,” Kevin said once again, firmly this time. Andrew scoffed—he never thought a son of Poseidon would be _this_ stubborn, but Kevin was Kevin. Once he had a plan, no one was allowed to ruin it. “In there, we’ll find a clue or help for our quest. We’ve come this far, I will not throw it away just because most of you are scared of what the prophecy for this quest may unravel.”

Allison and Seth remained silent after Kevin’s words—a wise move from them, Andrew thought. Therefore, Dan gave Kevin a calculated look, as if she was planning something; perhaps a quest of three in Rome, to find this lost camp and see what kind of darkness that lurks through the city.

It was an irony that the nine of them were Greek demigods, sailing to the ancient city of Rome in hope to find some answers, _some helps._ Andrew didn’t remember the Romans were all friendly to the Greeks. After all, didn’t they dominate the mainland of Greece? Conquering them? It was such an irony for them to find help there…

_“The Romans don’t care about us, why would we even sail to Rome?”_

_“We’ll stay there for couple of days, and then we’ll continue our journey to other city. I’m sure you’ll love it.”_

_He didn’t ask why, but he would follow him anywhere if that meant he’d keep him safe. He hummed and shrugged, deciding the matter on their hand. The other guy looked satisfied and he smiled fondly at him._

_“Stop that,” he turned the other guy’s head away. “Don’t do anything foolish before I change my mind.”_

Andrew blinked. He was _glad_ when he could phantom his surrounding; the lounge, other demigods in the room, Aaron sat beside Kevin across from him…he was here, he was _present_. Andrew didn’t know what the vision was about. Ever since they sailed to Rome, Andrew had been dreaming—and sometimes the vision attacked him when he was awake—about odd things. He thought it must be the gods messed with him, but he wasn’t sure. Somehow, the dream felt real.

“Let’s divide into three groups,” Dan declared. “Kevin, who are you going to pick for your quest?”

Kevin turned to Andrew with questioning look sprawled over his face. Oh, no, no, Andrew didn’t like the idea, not even a bit. Two sons of the eldest gods walked down the ancient land _together_? A bad and dangerous idea, but perhaps that was their only luck. Whereas Kevin had blessing from Athena and power over the sea, Andrew had an entire army of the death where he could summon them whenever he wanted. Combining Andrew and Kevin together would make them deadly and hazardous—unsafe.

“Andrew,” Kevin shifted his attention back at Dan. She looked like she was about to dismiss the idea, probably giving Kevin a lecture on how dangerous it was for the sons of the Big Three walked in Rome alone, but Kevin continued, “In order to find the camp, we have to come to the ruins, Andrew could use his power to gain information from the spirits.”

“I’m not a detective,” Andrew pointed out.

“You will come,” Kevin stated firmly and turned to Allison. “And you. We’ll find the camp and do whatever we can to convince them to help us. Your ability alone will bring us luck. You’ll play as a mediator in between us and the Romans.”

Andrew knew this idea was ridiculous but Allison looked satisfied with Kevin’s decision. He was sure he had met thousand warriors before, but not one like Kevin—who was determined to walk in the most dangerous path in order to achieve his goal.

Everyone went quiet after Kevin’s decision. They enjoyed each other’s presence in the lounge, where the walls were built magically by Matt to show activities back in Camp Half-Blood. Andrew caught Renee watching over her cabin with sad expression and Nicky watched few of his half-siblings longingly. They were far from what they called home and sadness started to air in the longue. Although it wasn’t for long, because suddenly, Andrew _felt_ it; the warm feeling. He looked around and saw everyone relaxed, even Matt leaned closer to Dan. Andrew hated this warm feeling, he tried to snap it; imagining himself building a large black wall that protected _him_ from feeling something. On the corner of the room, Allison pretended she didn’t just manipulate other’s emotion.

“I have some news as well,” it was Aaron who broke the silence. “We need to close off any alternative doors that will lead straight to Olympus—I mean, the one where the gods are residing now.”

Aaron wasn’t popular for his plan or participation on this quest—neither twin did, actually. To hear him speaking like that was disorienting, for some people. Andrew knew better, of course, when Aaron planned something, it had to be very important and urgent.

“You’re talking about the Labyrinth,” Dan was giving him a horror look and Aaron flicked his fingers in confirmation. Daedalus’ Labyrinth was a magical and complex maze, originally built in Crete Island. As the gods migrated to the biggest civilization—now, America—the Labyrinth also migrated and was located underneath the continent of America.

Few months before, Dan, Matt and Renee went off for the quest in the Labyrinth; to stop it from expanding itself and monsters that emerged from it. By the end of the day, Daedalus—who disguised himself as one of the mentor in Camp Half-Blood—ended his days by battling the monsters and shutting the Labyrinth from expanding on its own, as well as closing the exact door to Tartarus.

Yet, a month ago, the Labyrinth was reported active again and expanded throughout the world. They didn’t know who gave the maze life once again, but they knew it had to be stopped; from expanding, from bringing monster, from having a direct route to where the gods resided. 

Oh, they had a lot of tasks to do here, then.

“We need to be able to destroy the bridge between Tartarus and our world,” Aaron explained. His facial expression went grim and Andrew knew why—he _knew damn well_ why. “Once it expanded to New York or Greece—the root of the gods—there’ll be no war to be saved.”

“So what is your suggestion then?” It was Matt who asked.

Aaron was now silent. Andrew watched his twin brother carefully, from the way his shoulder tensed—for bringing back so many memories regarding the maze. Both of them inherited Hades’ powers; while Andrew’s most powerful power was necromancy, geokinesis was Aaron’s best ability. He was excellent at controlling the earth; he could even cause a tremor so powerful when he wanted to.

Once before they were here, Aaron had to go to the Labyrinth himself and shifted the walls of the maze. Andrew knew what his brother saw in the maze and how sometimes he still had nightmares about. What Andrew didn’t quite understand, after all these years, was the reason why Aaron could sense the life force of the Labyrinth as if he was tied to it.

If Aaron was going to the one of the pits inside the Labyrinth again, Andrew wanted to go with him. He couldn’t stomach the thought of Aaron going alone, not again.

“I need help destroying it,” Aaron declared. “I can walk in and out of the Labyrinth without difficulty, I can shift the walls and navigate them. Destroying the bridge needs more work, I need you two.”

Aaron looked at Dan and Matt, who shifted uncomfortably on their seat. “Daedalus had the map of the Labyrinth that only the children of Athena could read it.”

“That’s why you need me,” Dan confirmed. “You and I can navigate the—“

“No,” Andrew exclaimed, loud and clear. He tried to channel his power, spreading his aura of fear and death to everyone in the longue. It made Dan and Matt flinched from Andrew—good, that was good, they should fear him.

“Andrew—“

“No,” Andrew gave Aaron a piercing look. “You’re not going to go to that maze,” _again_. “Have you lost your mind? You can get yourself killed along the way,” _and Andrew couldn’t lose him for the second time._

“Andrew,” Aaron called. Other people in the room didn’t even dare to look at either twin, save for Nicky who looked at them with concern. “I’m going to be okay.”

“Promise me.”

“I swear on River Styx,” Aaron held up his palm. Andrew had a _really_ bad idea about this. What kind of darkness that lurks in the city? He wasn’t so sure whether it was a real darkness or spirits that escaped from Tartarus. One way or another, they had to find out. Maybe they’d give Andrew another task to undo the darkness that’d veil Rome.

That’s _so_ great.

“Tell us what you need,” Kevin said. He looked at Aaron as if he was weighing this idea, of three of them going to the Labyrinth and doing whatever they can to burn the bridges between mortal world and Tartarus.

Aaron started to explain more about his plan. In order to go in and out of the Labyrinth safely, they needed a copy of Ariadne’s string. Matt and Dan had to work together to create it, but they didn’t get any problem with that. Apparently, Aaron would stop the Labyrinth’s wall from shifting while Dan leaded the way with a map. However, Aaron didn’t explain further how they’d find a map—considering he already _had_ it with him for years.

Andrew was no longer interested of the talking. He was still too upset Aaron would play the martyr card all over again. Had Aaron learned from his past mistake, Andrew didn’t know. The Labyrinth could turn him crazy, brought his deepest fears, or worse; crushed him underground. None of the options were safe, Andrew was sure Aaron knew that.

Instead of sitting there any longer, Andrew went to upper deck. There was no one there and Andrew stood as close as possible to the edge. Beneath him, the water was pitch black Andrew could barely see anything but his own expression. Above him, the sky was cloudy there wasn’t a single star or moon.

He didn’t know how long he had stayed there until Renee approached him. They stood side by side in silence, with Renee still gave Andrew a distance between them. It wasn’t because of fear, Andrew could sense if someone was afraid of him, but it was simply because Renee respected him enough with his thought and privacy. She didn’t ask questions unless Andrew wanted to answer them. She’d be happy to accompany Andrew to calm his emotion down. If it was necessary, Renee would spar with Andrew. Because sometimes sparring was the only way Andrew could release his emotion.

Andrew could see Renee’s feature on the water. Her pastel hair was longer than the first time Andrew met her. There was a pure exhaustion on her face and her eyes went dull each time they were closer to Rome. Perhaps, being in the ancient land indeed tired them down. He just hoped when the two of them were needed, the exhaustion would fade away.

Maybe it was the city after all; the power it had for centuries. Perhaps the city knew who Andrew and Renee really were. Could the spirits be scared? Andrew hoped so.

“I’m going to kill him myself,” Andrew whispered. Even when his voice was low, the fire on his words was strong.

“He wants to help,” Renee replied softly. “He knows he’s the only one here who has the power, he doesn’t see other reason why he needs to do nothing.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll go with him,” Renee’s suggestion struck Andrew like a lightning bolt. He stared at Renee with a bored expression, but he calculated the stunt she was trying to pull. Trusting Aaron with Renee would make Andrew felt less jittery, but would it be a good plan for their quest?

“Andrew, I can protect him,” and Renee meant it; she knew she could. Here, when they were alone; the soft spoken, modern day Hestia, Renee Walker was gone. Here, Renee was the girl she introduced herself to Andrew; a warrior, a protector, a girl who had tasted the war right after she was born.

They didn’t exchange words to each other afterwards, but a new promise and change of plan had been made. Andrew and Renee stared at the horizon; were cautious from the enemies that might rise and attack them. After all, they were in the Mediterranean Sea; the old monsters’ lair.

Eventually, Kevin and Dan convinced them to take a rest. Andrew was more than happy to oblige. He went to his cabin, laid down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He didn’t know what waited for them in Rome, but Andrew assumed it wouldn’t be pleasant after all. The prophecy that followed this quest sounded dangerous, even on his ears.

And the death that would rise? Andrew had no idea who or what it could be. He knew many spirits still lingered in the city—in the ruins especially, but he had no idea whether they were harmless or just another giant’s army. Andrew closed his eyes, he didn’t want to think about that now.

Yet, his unconscious self didn’t elaborate with him. For a demigod, a dream could be a message or a warning, Andrew tried to figured which one was which.

 

* * *

 

 

Andrew dreamed of an underground tunnel. Its walls covered with ancient images, he was sure the floor was once a marble. The tunnel, magically, smelled like ocean as Andrew could hear running water nearby. He tried to step further into the tunnel. As he walked, the light from the torch that hung in the wall flicked and died, as if the Stygian iron that hung over Andrew’s shoulder absorbed it. Andrew found it funny; he was dreaming, but it felt so real.

Two orbs flew over him. Andrew decided to follow them in hope to find a clue of what was going on—what or who was waiting for him or the team in Rome. The orbs turned into a massive stone gate then disappeared into the dark corridor. He stalked inside the cavern slowly. Darkness was not his concern, being born as the son of Hades, Andrew learned how to befriend the shadow and darkness.

The corridor ended on the large hall, where a dim light illuminated the room. On the far end of the hall was a huge throne, the ceiling was—surprisingly—high enough but Andrew didn’t like the sight of it at all. Hundreds maybe thousands flock of Ravens hung over the railings, some flew by and some watched over the throne. The air also shifted, Andrew could no longer smell or hear the ocean, as if indeed Andrew was far away from it.

Then, on the corner of the room were two boxes hanging from the ceiling. Andrew slowly walked closer to the boxes and stood still. There was no floor beneath the boxes. When Andrew peered over the edge, he could sense it; the eternal darkness and punishment below him. This wasn’t a normal pit, this was _the_ pit Andrew wanted Aaron to stay away from. If he was right, then Andrew’s unconscious mind brought him into some kind of throne room for a monster or giant, or _maybe_ a titan.

He heard footstep from the corridor, it grew louder as if whoever owned this place was hurrying to the throne room. Before he could turn around, a magical force pushed Andrew into the darkness.

Andrew was afraid of height. He didn’t feel safe when _Argo II_ was taking the aerial route instead of the sea. The thrilling sensation that went down his spine whenever he was few feet from the ground wasn’t something he wanted to feel. Being in the air made Andrew feels weak, and he hated feeling vulnerable.

Falling down to the dark pit—even when he knew he was dreaming—was no better either. Andrew could feel his heart leaping out of his chest. He wanted to scream but he couldn’t find his voice. Grabbing his Stygian iron sword for a mental support, Andrew closed his eyes and prepared for a hard fall.

Instead of landing in the darkest place in his father’s realm, Andrew found himself falling to the river. It wasn’t a hard crash and the water was warm on his skin. For a moment, he let himself drown before Andrew swam for the surface and studied his surroundings. The river was in the middle of a forest, where the sunlight made the water looked glossy and sparkly. In the distance, a mountain stood still as if it guarded a city near the forest. Andrew furrowed his eyebrows together, the scene oddly felt _quite familiar_ to him, as if bathing in this river was something he had done many, many times. He began to wonder if this scene was from his past life, but Andrew was sure he never been to this river before.

 _Sarnus River_.

Andrew blinked as the word popped into his mind. He looked at his surroundings once again and found a man—no, not a man, _himself_ —sitting on top of a rock. The man dressed in a broken white tunic, looking at Andrew with bored expression. It felt like, Andrew was looking into a mirror, and for someone who had a twin, that said enough.

He didn’t know what was going on and hated for feeling that way.

 _This is another vision,_ Andrew thought. _This isn’t real, you’ll wake up soon._

“You look hilarious,” the man—Andrew’s clone—said. He was speaking ancient Latin and Andrew understood it just fine.

“If you say so,” Andrew found himself answering, but the voice that came out of his mouth didn’t sound like him at all. This voice, however, wasn’t foreign to Andrew. He wondered where he heard this, but whenever he tried to think, his head hurt.

“Get up here,” Andrew’s clone spoke again. “You scare the nymphs away.”

“Do I?” The voice that came from Andrew sounded playful, almost like he was flirting with the man on the rock. He had enough of this; Andrew didn’t like seeing his own _clone_ or whoever the man is talking to him. The man might sound bored, but Andrew knew better. He knew what that man tried to hide underneath layers of boredom.

Andrew turned his gaze to the water, but before his reflection could stared at him back, the image shifted again and now Andrew found himself in the canoe lake back in Camp Half-Blood. All the lake nymphs were pointing toward the shore, where the camp was burning and a pile of dead bodies laid on the ground. Their blood covered the moss, turning the ground to ruby red instead of green. On the climbing wall, Aaron’s broken body was hung.

He felt all his blood drained from his face. Andrew wanted to throw up, tried to swim to the climbing wall but the water him back. It was almost like Andrew was fighting against nature.

On the shore, a woman in grass green dress appeared. Her black hair seemed to swirl and her eyes were closed as if she was sleeping. Even if she was indeed sleeping, the woman looked beautiful. She was a mix of a matron and regal, like a queen.

“Such a brave hero,” the woman said without opening her mouth. Her voice sounded dreamy, considering that perhaps she was _actually_ talking on her sleep. “For your courage, I shall give you my generosity.”

“Who are you?” Andrew wasn’t going to back down from this. He drew his Stygian iron sword in case he needed to fight on _his_ dream.

“Soon, you’ll learn my name, but not now,” the woman laughed, mocking him. “You think by going to ancient land will stop the giants? Oh, my dear hero, these giants are my pawn.”

“What do you want?” Andrew was tired of the game the gods played with him.

“I’ve seen enough destruction,” the woman answered. “I am tired. Let my children avenge me, Andrew. Come, sail to Greece, where they will rise and rule the world once again. I’ll let my children destroy Olympus, for they have caused disturbance upon the world. Then, my children can rule and build a new palace for the eldest creatures.

Help my children, Andrew,” she flicked her fingers and suddenly, the climbing wall was burning—Aaron was burning. Andrew wanted to attack, but he felt paralyzed. “Or else, this is what the future looks like.”

“I will destroy you and all the giants!” Andrew soared. He felt shadows started emerge from him, shielding him from the power of the mad woman on the shore. Yet, the image shifted again. Now Andrew was back on the ship, overlooking the horizon as a large black ship came closer. He could hear someone calling out his name, but that sounded so distant. The other voices, however, sounded like they were trying to warn Andrew.

“Can you?” Amongst the sound that surrounded him, the woman’s voice was the loudest one. “Let’s see if you can survive from my Golden Boy.”

Then, all of sudden, someone woke him up. He sat up and heard someone groaned in pain. Processing his surrounding, Andrew cursed himself for _punching_ Aaron on the gut. His brother sat on his bed, his face was few inches away from his own. Shadows were dancing around him, and Aaron’s figure slowly faded away.

“Andrew,” There was panic and alert on his voice, even when he wrapped his arms to his center. “We’re under attack.”


End file.
